During recent years increasing numbers of slug or token operated machines have been made and used. Many of these machines can be operated by means of coins. However, it is convenient to use a slug or token than a coin so that the value of the services or goods dispensed by the machine can be changed without requiring a corresponding change in the acceptance mechanism of the machine.
Since automatic slug or token operated machines normally operate unattended, they are subject to operation by counterfeit tokens or slugs. In some circumstances, such as a large subway system, the amount of revenue lost through the use of counterfeit tokens is significant.
The most common methods of counterfeiting or copying slugs or tokens are stamping or machining on a lathe. These two methods can be utilized at a sufficiently low cost to make the counterfeiting operation economically feasible.
Various prior art arrangements have been used to prevent counterfeit coins from operating the associated machinery. In particular, tokens or slugs with various notched peripheries have been used in an attempt to distinguish the token or slug from common coins and to discourage counterfeiting. Unfortunately, notched designs are easily counterfeited by a stamping process. Other prior art designs have utilized a smooth periphery with various grooves located along the axis of the token. Specially shaped slots are then used in the acceptance mechanism to reject those tokens which do not have the corresponding grooves. Unfortunately this type of token is easily counterfeited by means of machining on a lathe.
Some prior art mechanisms are capable of discriminating tokens composed of magnetic materials from those composed of non-magnetic materials. However, making counterfeit tokens either wholly magnetic or non-magnetic is not difficult. Producing a semi-magnetic token and discriminating it from tokens of other degrees of magnetization would permit more sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a token which is not easily counterfeitable by either stamping or machining.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and jam-proof mechanism for the acceptance of a token which is not easily counterfeitable.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a token which is easily and inexpensively constructed and is compatible with many token acceptance mechanisms presently in use.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a token and token acceptance mechanism which can be used in addition to those token acceptance mechanisms already in use to provide additional protection against counterfeiting.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a semi-magnetic token and a mechanism to discriminate it from wholly magnetic and non-magnetic tokens.